Happy Birthday I Guess
by xRedxWinex
Summary: Cindy's gay cousin Hans is in the States for her birthday! Though excited at first, she and Jimmy soon learn that the real reason he's here isn't for her party, but to rekindle a relationship with none other than Eustace Strytch! J/C and OC/ES
1. Chapter 1

**Hello. This is my first post. I've got no idea where in the hell I might continue with this. It was just a totally random idea that I decided to choke out. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks for reading!**

**-Emira  
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><p>It wasn't that Jimmy was jealous.<p>

Well, no.

Actually he _was_ jealous, but he was trying really, really REALLY hard not to be.

Cindy was turning 17 today. Her party was tomorrow, and he had wanted to give her his present early…yet as he walked over to her house, he could see her with a guy he'd never met before.

He was confident that Cindy was just as crazy about him as he was about her, but she was _smiling _at this guy on her porch. He didn't recognize him from the back, and she had this absolutely adoring look on her face and they were holding each other's hands and she threw her head back and laughed at what the stranger had to say just as his feet hit the sidewalk in front of her house.

Before he could do anything though, even open his mouth to speak, she had seen him. Cindy's smile amplified by a power of ten. She ran around the body of the boy she was talking to, and into Jimmy's arms.

"Happy birthday Cindy!" He squeezed her hard to him, and was very smug and felt very silly. She was his. All his.

"Aw thanks babe," she kissed the side of his face.

"I want you to meet Hans, my cousin. Hans!" She called to the stranger over her shoulder and now that Jimmy could see him without a veil of green, he noticed Hans was a spitting image of Cindy. It was like they had been cloned and while Cindy had been given breasts, Hans had been given jet black hair.

"Hans, this is my boyfriend Jimmy!"

"Oh yes, James,"

Hans had a clipped, light German accent, and very expensive clothing. He seemed quite out of his element on the lawn of a modest 2 story house. His smile was friendly though, so Jimmy and Hans shook hands and went about giving Cindy their full attention.

"Isn't it great? My two favorite boys here for my birthday!" she squealed girly like and did a happy dance.

Hans and Jimmy shared a look, before Cindy's mom came out of the house.

"Cynthia! Come inside and fix your cousin's room. I've asked you a dozen times,"

Cindy winced a little, but smiled at the others.

"Jimmy will you entertain Hans for a minute? Mother's on the war path," She ran inside.

Jimmy tried to start a conversation with Hans, but all that he got out was: "Well, uh, Hans, what do you uh…"

But Hans would have none of it.

"I'm gay." He interrupted.

A little shocked at the blunt proclamation and as confused as anything, Jimmy answered,

"Okay?"

"And Cynthia is very much in love with you,"

Jimmy wasn't sure where this conversation was going, but Hans had taken a step closer, and Jimmy didn't realize he had taken two back.

"Yes…?"

"She really has excellent taste," he continued while he ran his eyes over Jimmy's physique "and she tells me you're a genius with a big heart that would help a miserable wretch like me find someone."

Hans put his hand over his heart and sighed.

"Uh…"

"I have his picture, if that would make things easier,"

Not entirely sure how to handle someone who took stalking so lightly, Jimmy was unprepared for the face he saw staring back at him when he actually looked at the picture Hans had shoved at him.

"What?"

"What can I say? I met him at a country club over the summer. Sadly, I went back to Deutschland and he stayed here and I would just love to see him again,"

He vaguely heard the door close and Cindy walk up next to him.

"Jimmy, I know you don't have Betty Quinlan photos in your lab anymore, but I have every right to be concerned if you carry around Eustace Strytch pictures in your pocket."

"GAAHH!" Jimmy yelled and dropped the photo before leaping off the sidewalk and into the street.

Hans raised an eyebrow. "What? I would pay you handsomely of course…" he mumbled as he picked up the picture and lovingly traced the edges.

The seriousness of the situation hit him. His girlfriend's favorite cousin was smitten with Eustace Strytch, megalomaniac and royal pain in the ass. And said cousin of the girl of his dreams was asking for his help in tracking down said lunatic nemesis so that they could rekindle some summer love.

"Have you told her?" Jimmy asked Hans, pointing at Cindy.

Hans looked genuinely confused.

"That I'm gay? Of course."

"Jimmy," said Cindy. "I didn't think you were homophobic!"

"I'm not!"

"Then what's this about?" Cindy was getting mad. She had really wanted the two to get along…

"He's in love with Eustace Strytch!"

Her eyes nearly fell out of her head.

"What?"

"We met at a country club last summer. You told me Jimmy was a genius, so I asked him to find him for me." Hans looked between his cousin and his new acquaintance and his face adopted a pleading expression.

"I can't help but feel as though I'm missing something. Explain bitte!"

Cindy and Jimmy continued gaping.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello all. Thank you to those who are reading, and to ****those who have reviewed. Please feel free to review. I want this story to be enjoyable to readers, and how can I know if I'm delivering if I receive no feedback?  
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**I forgot to mention earlier: I do not own any rights to any character in this story**_, _**besides Hans.**

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><p><em>Six Months Ago…<em>

_May 28th_

Dear Diary,

Father is demented I'm sure. He has the audacity to send me to a summer camp! ME! It will, of course, be the best that money can buy… but I shall be terribly bored without anyone around to belittle.

I leave in two days for the Rocky Mountain Resort for Privileged Teens.

I will hire a private physician to see to Father as soon as my funds are unfrozen.

_June 3rd_

Dear Diary,

This place is dull. All of the inhabitants are terribly rich, like me, and there is no one around whom I can impress.

But something interesting did happen today. A boy from Germany arrived, and is now staying in the cabin I share with two others. His name is Hans. His room is across the hallway from mine, and he and I ate dinner together and when we reached for the salt our hands touched and …

Wait. Nevermind.

_June 6th_

Dear Diary,

I learned yesterday that Hans is gay, and many of our piers are taking none too kindly to that. He's practically a pariah, and though I generally stray from random acts of kindness, pity overwhelmed me.

So Hans and I played a spot of archery today. Although, it was terribly odd how he made me teach him how to play, and how to hold the bow and arrow, and how quickly he was able to hit the center of the target given that he is, supposedly, a beginner.

_June 9th_

Dear Diary,

God's Wounds! The days are passing quickly. Hans knows how to have fun with such limited resources: we ripped up some of our oldest clothing and pretended we were poor in the woods. We caught small shellfish in the river and after dinner we climbed one of the bigger trees away from the campground. He taught me German words and sang German songs until the sun went down and we had to go back.

_June 13th_

Hans told me today that he's not leaving until the middle of July. I'm supposed to leave in three days.

It shouldn't be hard for me to convince Father to let me stay too.

_June 20th_

It's been a while since I've written. I'll probably stop all together soon. I just wanted in on the record that I, Eustace Henry Strytch V, am in love.

With a boy. From Germany. Named Hans.

_July 1st_

Today has been an exercise in serendipity Diary.

Hans was in excellent spirits at breakfast:

"Ach, mein Mann, was sollen wir Heute machen?" he said with his usual unaffected tone, but his smile was sincere.

"Hmm…you just asked what we should do today?"

"Klar!" Hans smiled, and my heart jolted. I had just sat down to breakfast next to him. I had not given any thought to what we might do. But honestly, did it matter as long as I was at his side?

"I'm not sure."

" Tch, you are not sure. I am thinking you do know!" I was immediately nervous and guilt ridden. I had dreamt about him last night, a dream that had been one of _those_ dreams.

Suddenly my ears burned, and every clink of silverware and every voice was huge and banging inside my head.

"I want to climb." I almost shouted as I stood suddenly, so weary, so jumpy was I. I hadn't touched my breakfast, and he noticed.

He simply raised his eyebrows, "Klar, meinen Freund. Let's go climb trees."

Ignoring the stares at my back I almost ran out of the refectory, before my feet hit grass, and then I did start running, Hans at my heels.

I didn't stop until we were far in the woods, and at a tree we had yet to climb. Out of breath, I turned to him, and he had a question written on his face. But he was even more out of shape than I, and he slumped against the tree, keeping his eyes on mine.

"Ah?"

I tried to turn away and look for a place to start climbing.

Not satisfied, he pushed himself up and got in my face.

I tried to push him gently away with my hand on his collar bone, and immediately knew this was the wrong thing to do. Instead of creating a gap, I bridged one.

And then Hans grinned.

"I'm going to be blunt," he said.

He kissed me then, Diary, and I'm so unsure of everything now.

I'm gay, and I don't know what I'm going to do when he leaves for Germany two weeks from now.

I just don't know.

_August 4th_

I need to tell someone Diary, how much I miss him. I can't tell Father, and I have no real friends. Hans was all I needed…but the phone number he gave me doesn't work, and he's not responded to any of my letters or Facebook mesages! I'm sadder than I've ever been.

I thought he loved me too...


	3. Chapter 3

They had managed to close their mouths, finally.

"Now..does anyone wish to explain?" asked Hans with all of the patience he could muster.

Jimmy glanced at Cindy. She looked conflicted.

"Could we take him to your lab Jimmy?" she asked.

"I think it would be better to just _show _him what we're talking about…" she continued at his questioning eyebrow.

He nodded, and led the way across the street with Cindy, with an agitated Hans behind them.

Jimmy sat down in front of his giant monitor, Cindy and Hans to his left. He searched all of his available data on Eustace Strytch, compiling different instances of the rich boy's insanity and cruelty.

As the impromptu movie began to play, hurt struck Cindy. She recognized every image, and discreetly took Jimmy's hand, knowing he could never have forgotten a single one, even if he truly tried.

**They were eleven on the surface of Mars.** Hans saw that there was Eustace and Jimmy and Cindy and a black girl and a tan Mexican and a chubby red head. Eustace was losing, and then kicking and screaming about revenge and murder, before laughing and physically abusing his butler.

Hans couldn't look away. _This isn't Eustace. I didn't fall in love with the boy on the screen._

**They were twelve at a science fair.** Cindy and Jimmy were bickering over a trophy, until suddenly, there was darkness and screaming. Then a voice that couldn't have belonged to anyone other than Eustace boomed from nowhere: "Who's _helpless_ now Jimmy Neutron? Who's going to _save_ you Cynthia?" An insane cackle filled the air along with the sound of gas slipping in through the vents.

"It was carbon monoxide." Cindy whispered so Hans would know.

Hans' eyes filled with tears. _That wasn't Eustace. That wasn't the voice I hear in my dreams._

**They were sixteen** **and Jimmy was sitting on a bench in his lab** with a screwdriver in one hand and a welding mask in the other.

"Damn it Goddard, my head must be getting bigger. This is the second time I've had to adjust this helmet this month!"

Goddard's whine in the background sounded suspiciously like a snicker.

Jimmy was again bent over the helmet when his master screen flickered into a blurry image of the side of Cindy's face. She had blood trickling down her mouth.

"Jimmy," she whispered.

Jimmy dropped what he was doing and ran over to his keyboard to try and clean up the image and trace the signal.

"Eustace has us," she said, and then grunted when the watch that Jimmy had made especially for her was torn from her wrist.

"What's this Cynthia? Calling James?" Eustace's buck toothed face filled the screen.

"Oh help her James!" He fluttered his eyelashes and pretended to swoon before cackling madly.

_Nein._

"Eustace, what do you hope to accomplish?" Jimmy asked; playing for time as his computer traced the signal to her watch's coordinates.

"I want you to know how I feel," said Eustace with such sincerity that it gave Jimmy pause.

Eustace trained the watch on the red head, his body strapped to a bed, sneezing uncontrollably, eyes watery and red, boils and blisters all over his skin. ("His name is Carl, Hans," Cindy whispered.)

"I feel like this every time Father says he'd rather have a son like you," said Eustace, waving a hand over Carl.

Now the Mexican was on a treadmill, running as fast as he could, to keep the glinting blade that made painful slices at the back of his legs and neck whenever he dropped the pace the slightest bit. Sweat and tears had stained his shirt, and the blood on his legs was flowing freely. ("His name is Sheen," added Jimmy.)

"I feel like this every time I have to get out of bed. Every time I have to face the day of disappointment and boredom and failure," Eustace continued pointing at Sheen.

Now, the black girl was shown. She had long braids and was screaming so high it was a wonder the clear box she had been stuffed in hadn't simply shattered. The box was so small she couldn't lift her head up. ("She's my best friend. Her name is Libby,")

"This is what it's like being inside this stupid mansion. Funds frozen, Father a nitwit, too embarrassed to leave the house, nothing to do Neutron! I can't do ANYTHING!" Eustace screamed over Libby.

And then Cindy was back on. She was strapped around the middle and wrists and ankles and throat and forehead to a wall, with arrows embedded in the wood around her. Some had gotten too close and nicked her, and one had drawn a line of red across her cheek.

"This is more symbolic than anything James. Touch of fun actually. This is to show you that I will keep practicing…"

He picked up an arrow and a bow, and set the watch down so that Jimmy could see Eustace and Cindy.

"…and eventually I'll hit the target, James,"

He let the string go, and when the arrow struck barely an inch above Cindy's head, Eustace laughed and laughed.

_!_

"Halt HALT!"cried Hans, sobbing into Cindy's arms, hands clapped over his ears.

Jimmy stopped the clip and shivered. He wanted to cry too.

_That was Eustace. That was MY Eustace. That was the boy I sang to, and talked to and kissed. Mein Gott. He said he loved me. He tried to call me. He tried to message me. He said he loved me too._


	4. Chapter 4

**Alrighty everyone. Thanks to all of those who stuck with me. I've known it's been a while since I've updated. I really hope this makes up for it! Remember, it is starting to get a little racy, and I'll probably change the rating soon, but nothing tasteless, or anything I would consider inappropriate yet. Enjoy, and send me a review with any comments or concerns. Disclaimer: only Hans belongs to me.**

Cindy had never really known heartbreak. As soon as she and Jimmy had hit puberty, well…that had been the end of the rivalry. A switch had been flicked, and all sorts of hidden desires had been loosed on the world and they had not given a damn. Which was something that Cindy had ever thought possible. She bit back a smile at her good fortune though, because Hans was still sobbing. Locked onto her arm, Hans tripped up the stairs to his makeshift bedroom, and Cindy could do nothing but watch as he _completely lost it_ over what he'd just seen. A hairline fracture crawled down her heart.

She'd had no idea that he'd loved Eustace like this. She never thought that being able to love the haughty bucktoothed prick was possible, or probable. Then again, she'd never thought of she and Jimmy as possible either. Relief flooded her veins as an unexpected sigh escaped from her mouth; Jimmy had never done anything like this to her. He had never lived some secret life that was so twisted and ugly that it was no wonder he'd kept secrets. She had been by his side for what seemed like forever!

With a jerk, she remembered her cousin's plight, and found him a box of tissues. The guilt was back inside her twofold: snot was running down his face and tears formed salty crystals on his eyelashes.

He didn't stop when she suggested he try and get a nap in before dinner. He just fell back onto the guestroom bed, and hugged the box of tissues to his middle. She bent over his sobbing frame and kissed his forehead, before straightening.

"Quit crying for a second," she ordered.

Hans made an effort, but was unable to fully comply.

"Your sinuses are gonna drain something awful if you don't settle down. I'm sorry you had to see those things…" tears leaked from his eyes,"…but we thought you deserved to know," she finished.

He nodded.

"I'm sorry." Her voice cracked and she cleared it, "There's just nothing else to say,"

He nodded again.

"I'll get you for dinner,"

Another nod.

She turned on her heel, and as she gently closed the door, she heard the full wail that emanates from the deepest parts of an aching human soul, straight from her cousin's mouth.

The hairline fracture became a gap, and she placed her palm on her chest in a futile and foolish attempt to rub the pain away. Then she went to the place where all of her problems were potentially created and always solved. She walked across the street.

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><p>Oh God. The memories.…<em>his master screen flickered into a blurry image of the side of Cindy's face. She had blood trickling down her mouth.<em>

They had had to show Hans, sure.

But now Jimmy's mind was running in a Mobius loop, over that image of Cindy, of all of the others, of the sheer insanity he'd seen in Eustace.

_I want you to know how I feel._ He'd said. So there was guilt too, in Jimmy. Irrational guilt, but rational fear for his friends and the one person he was sure he wouldn't be okay without.

…_eventually I'll hit the target, James._ He should have killed that git when he'd had the chance. Granted, what he'd done instead was a viable option, but didn't satisfy the raw bloodlust he was consumed with from time to time. He should have eradicated all possible threats to her well being.

The recent memory of Hans sideswiped him. The boy had broken down without reservations at the sight of what Eustace had done, had shown no qualms about begging for forgiveness, had had no problem declaring his everlasting love, no matter the pain or repercussions.

'Unconditional love for a lunatic' thought Jimmy. 'Figures it would be Cindy's cousin,'

It did figure in a way. Cindy was passionate in her love more so than she was in her hate. And knowing how hot her hatreds ran, all but Jimmy could guess at what her love was like, because he _knew_. He knew what she was capable of. The lingering touches and the hot kisses and the erotic breathing that came when they were pushing the boundaries of what they _wanted _to do and what they _needed_ to _not_ initiate.

He sighed. He still hadn't given Cindy her present.

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><p>WELCOME CINDY.<p>

"Thanks Vox," she answered as she rubbed the tender spot where she had jerked a strand of blond from her scalp. She walked through the first room of his clubhouse, down a flight of stairs, and through a tunnel. She walked up behind where he was seated in front of his massive computer. He was obviously tracking something, and she could see him switch from satellite feed to satellite feed. He leaned back, never removing his eyes from the screen, and ran a hand through his short hair.

She kissed his face in greeting.

"How's he doing?" he turned toward her.

"He's still sobbing. I think he needed to be alone for a little while. Just to think things through,"

She sighed, and closed her eyes.

"I think we should find Eustace," she blurted, after holding her breath a second too long.

He pulled her into his lap, and gently rubbed her side, where a scar from Eustace's bonding almost a year ago still lingered.

"And why do you think that?" he whispered.

"Because Hans loves Eustace. And, well, what if Eustace loves Hans too?" she whispered back.

"I'm with you on this one my dear Aurora Borealis. I've already found him," he tilted his head toward the monitor, where Strytch Manor was center screen. A pacing silhouette was seen in a fifth floor window.

"Why did you ask me if you were already looking for him?" she grumbled.

"Just making sure we had achieved a semblance of equilibrium on this issue," he paused then continued with a sigh, "Because honestly, what if Eustace really _does_ love Hans? I mean…what the hell happened there?"

She giggled a little, and snuggled into him, before popping right back up.

"You never gave me my present!" she exclaimed with hand motions for emphasis.

"Oh yeah," he smiled and reached into his pocket.

"Now, uh, I know it doesn't look all that fancy and that it's not really, uh, orthodox, but…"

He pulled out his hand, where nestled in his palm was a key.

"What's the key to?" she asked, fully prepared to throttle him for saying something corny.

"Why, Miss Vortex, you've just won…" at this, bright lights began flashing, and a light mist dropped from the ceiling. Her jaw wide open, she jumped off his lap and ran to the center of the room where a giant mechanism covered in cloth had been lowered from above. With a flourish, Jimmy whipped off the covering.

"Your very own hovercar!" he proclaimed proudly at her astonished expression.

She screamed. She cried. She kissed him. She demanded a tour.

"Okay, okay," he said, smiling from ear to ear. He had been hoping for this reaction.

He led her over to the circular transport vehicle. It was forest green where it wasn't silver or black. He explained that he had given her hovercar features his lacked, and that hers ran on a special fuel that he synthesized in the lab, so she wouldn't have to pay for gas. It had three back seats, and one shotgun seat, and very comfortable chairs.

"And, watch!" he said as he pressed a button on the driver's side, next to the ignition. All of the back seats went down.

"Oh, this is new too!" He pressed the button beside it, and suddenly, a roof was stretching from the diameter of the hover craft, and meeting seamlessly over their heads.

"Just for if it's really cold, or raining or whatever," he finished somewhat lamely, because the look she was giving him was distracting. It was one he hadn't seen before. One, that he was entirely sure he liked entirely too much. She raised the back seats up again, before crawling back there.

"Anything back here of note?" She managed to ask innocently, though he could practically see her mind whirring, and almost smell the pheromones coming off of her. And despite all warning signs, despite all of his rationale screaming, despite the recent change of events, he followed her to the backseat of her brand new hover car.

"This is the best birthday present anyone could have given me. Almost," She said to him, after he'd sat next to her in the back.

"Almost?" He said, momentarily hurt.

"Yeah," She straddled his lap in a flash. "Almost,"

"Cin-Cindy," He struggled for air when she began kissing him everywhere but his mouth and touching everywhere he tried to keep her away from.

"Hmm?"

"You don't know what you're doing to me…"

"No," She interrupted. "I know very well what I'm doing. The question is, are you gonna let me do it, or am I going to have to play rough?" she answered with her hands clenched in his hair and her hips sliding high and low. He knew she felt his arousal, but she was unaware that his hands were all over her.

"Is it time for us Jimmy?" she murmured, their foreheads touching, breathing heavy.

"Are you going to let me, let you?" she murmured against his lips.

"We're seventeen now. Do you have a condom?" she barely breathed out the words in between his kisses.

"Yes." He said, and he pulled off her shirt.


	5. Chapter 5

The glass was steamed up.

Eustace drew a tree in the triple paned frosted glass that separated his bathroom from the courtyard behind the manor. The tree was as tall as he could reach and as wide as the panes allowed. He drew individual leaves with his fingerprints, and thick branches with his palm. The only light in the sterile white room came from a soft 40 watt bulb that shone down into the shower. A white towel hung on his hips, and water dripped from his lank hair down his pale and frightfully skinny back. His vertebrae created ridges between wide shoulders. A pool of water collected at his heels. He didn't know. All he knew was the sudden rage he felt.

The tree was mocking him. Its tranquility, its clarity, was the exact inverse of every thought and emotion that flicked through his consciousness. Every tendon tensed, every muscle spasmed, and he closed his eyes and punched the glass. He kicked the glass. He yelled, screamed, and banged and stepped back into a puddle of cool water and slipped. He landed flat on his back, and moaned, dizzy with shock. Gingerly, he felt the back of his skull. No blood. Dazed and suddenly sheepish, he peeked back up at the window. His tree was scratched out by his fingernails and faded by fresh condensation. The glass was unscathed. Tired, void of emotion, and wet, he slinked into his bedroom.

The glass was steamed up.

'What a way to break in my new car,' thought Cindy.

Panting, sticky and sweaty, Cindy Vortex looked into the big blue eyes that she never went a day without and didn't give a damn about the time. She was euphoric.

"You're late for dinner," mumbled the boy on top of her.

"Hmm..I can't seem to care." She mumbled back.

"You should leave before your mother comes looking for you. Or mine, for that matter," he said, as he glanced fearfully at the monitor.

"Fair enough," she smiled, sat up and got dressed. In her new hover car. Hot. Damn.

As she walked out the door, Jimmy caught her by the wrist.

"Um, thanks," he said, not exactly meeting her eyes, but smiling so big, she forgave him.

She furrowed her brow regardless.

"For what Jimmy? I should be thanking you," she waved the key to her new hover car in his face, before embracing him.

"Thanks for the awesome gift. It's the greatest anyone's ever given to me," she said quietly, arms tight around his shoulders.

"To what are you..?"

"Gotta go Neutron! Jeez, get your hands off my butt, my mom's gonna kill me!" she yelled playfully in the direction of her house. He doubled over laughing and watched her walk across the street before going inside his own home. He needed a shower and something to eat before contacting Eustace, because his mind was made up. No one should have to live without knowing.

Hans watched from his open window as the couple playfully bickered under the green late summer trees. Something was different. They were looking at each other with a different kind of ease, and they were dutifully speaking of something in vague terms. They couldn't keep the smiles off their faces, and Cindy had been gone since Hans had been home. He put two and two together and came to four. He went downstairs to greet her.

Cindy couldn't remember being the degree of happy she was now. She was fully prepared to be yelled at for being late, for being rude to her cousin, for failing her daughterly duties. Whatever, she didn't care.

She opened the door, and was greeted with a stream of cold water in the face. She gave an initial squeal and rubbed her eyes.

"WHAT the-?" she asked the person behind the squirt bottle.

"Cindy, go take a shower," commanded Hans.

"What the hell Hans?" she asked, much more amused than angry.

"I can smell the sex on you from here. Go take a shower before your parents come home!" he said with a grin, and squirted her in her open mouth.

She was shocked and none of her muscles were able to move, until she began choking.

"_Schnell_, Cindy, s_chnell_!" he said and squirted her right between the eyes. Squealing, she ran up the stairs and he shot her in the butt as she passed him.

"And I am going to want details _Cousine_!" he yelled after her. He was sick of crying. And secretly, he wanted to know the details, because surely the ones she would speak of, he would never experience on his own.

'He gave you a false number, old bean. You were faithfully provided with a false home address and an inbox to fill up. You were used, and then left behind,' thought Eustace, not for the first time, eyes tracing patterns in the ceiling. He could smell Hans whenever a breeze blew through his room and swished the curtain, and felt Han's hand, not his, whenever he would rub his forehead and the top of his skull.

"Why don't you get the bloody hell out of my head?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"WHY?" he screamed, loud enough to shake the manor foundations, and bolted the windows shut with almost rabid ferocity.

No one answered. The house staff were much too afraid to step foot on the fifth floor. His father hadn't been seen in days. As far as Eustace cared, everything was as it should be.

'Except I'm alone,'

Against his will, against his state of mind, and without any knowledge as to why he was compelled to do so, Eustace began singing a song that had once been sung to him, in the treetops, after kisses had been stolen and secrets shared.

Der Abend neigte sich

Doch dann da sah ich dich

so ein Gefühl, mit gar nichts zu vergleichen !

Wusste nicht wen du küsst,

ob du alleine bist,

ich fragte mich wie kann ich dich erreichen ?

Eustace began to pace. It was dark out, after eight, if he were to guess.

'Why did Hans do this to me?'

And then something clicked. Hans had wronged him. Hans had _wronged_ him. Eustace's mind began racing, because when someone wronged you, it was only fair to wrong them back. Revenge swelled within Eustace and for a moment he was back on top, with the world at his feet, with everything around him, falling into place.

"Revenge!" said Eustace, and the word tasted so good, felt so right, that even his blood was singing.

Yet before the smile could even latch onto his face, he fell screaming in agony, and threw up.

'Damn you Neutron,' was his last thought before passing out.

"Well, _komm_. Say something!" snapped an impatient Hans. Libby nodded. They were all sitting on Cindy's bed, after she and Hans had eaten a hasty dinner and Cindy had called Libby over.

"First, I think I should say that for my birthday he built me a hover car," she said smugly. Libby gasped, though at his confused expression, Cindy jerked her thumb over to his house.

"That round tube in his yard? It floats, and he can legally drive it because he built it, even though it's got weapons and flares and God knows what else in there. He _built_ me one," she sighed dreamily.

"Damn girl!" said Libby, hands to her face.

"I know!" squealed Cindy.

"When can we see it?" piped up Hans.

"Well…not until the back seat gets cleaned," answered Cindy, avoiding eye contact.

Libby wasn't sure whether to be disgusted or delighted, "Girl. No. You. DIDN'T,"

"We did,"

"Ah, Cindy! Does the boy not have a bed in that club space of his?" said a surprised Hans.

"I mean, it all happened kind of fast. He was showing me all of the cool features in the car, and then I was on his lap, and then we started kissing, and we just went from there,"

The sappy smile was back on her face.

"MMmm. Girl you're gone," said Libby as she shook her head and grinned. She glanced at her watch and sighed,

"Well, hun, I gotta go. It was nice meeting you Hans!" Libby gave Cindy a hug, and kissed Hans on the hand, and left.

Gone. The word struck Cindy. Gone. Like Eustace, like Hans was. Gone.

She licked her lips.

"Hans?"

"Ja?" he smiled, reclining on her bed.

Deep breath.

"Jimmy found him."

Hans stiffened.

Eustace wasn't sure where he was really, until his eyes were able to differentiate the ceiling from the curtains and the chair he was lying next to. His butler's face was suddenly all he could see.

"Parkins?" he croaked, and tried to roll over, or sit up, or just move enough so that his bearings could be reestablished.

"Yes young Master?" sniffed Parkins.

"What the devil are you here for?" asked Eustace, without any of his usual venom. His stomach was sore, and breathing hurt.

"We all heard the screaming and the thud. It just so happened I drew the short straw, and was obligated to check on your wellbeing,"

Grunting with effort, he sat up.

"In the Senior Master's liquor cabinet again?" asked Parkins, nodding toward the sick mess that Eustace had been lying next to.

"Of course not," he said with more conviction than he felt. It was all a blur. He had been screaming?


End file.
